$17.5M station aims to shrink response times west of railroad tracks

LITTLE ITALY  Little Italy and San Diego’s harbor will finally get the fire station that residents and community leaders have wanted for years, city officials said Tuesday.

Construction is scheduled to start in January on a $17.5 million station at Pacific Highway and Cedar Street that will help reduce emergency response times in a growing area, Fire-Rescue Department officials told City Council members.

A 2011 study found that San Diego needed to increase the number of city fire stations from 47 to 57 to close large gaps in coverage that have lengthened response times. Other new stations include one under construction in Mission Valley and planned stations in Skyline and on Home Avenue in southeast San Diego.

Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with construction of the new Little Italy station and have the city solicit bids from contractors this fall.

Fire Chief Javier Mainar said the 16,000-square-foot station would reduce response times west of the railroad tracks, where the city doesn’t have any stations.

“Passage of the trains, particularly the large freight trains, results in response time delays,” Mainar said. “This station is critically important to our downtown coverage.”

Council President Todd Gloria, whose district includes Little Italy, said other reasons the station is crucial include all the new condominiums in the area, a new waterfront park that opened this spring and the nearly complete upgrades to the north embarcadero along Harbor Drive.

“I think this station is more urgently needed than ever,” said Gloria, predicting the new projects would increase tourism.

The new station was scheduled to be built in 2010 but was delayed when the state dissolved redevelopment agencies in 2011. Redevelopment revenue had been the primary source of funding for the project, but the city now plans to use a combination of bond proceeds and fees that developers pay to cover infrastructure.

Council members Myrtle Cole and Scott Sherman questioned the relatively high price tag, noting that most fire stations cost about $10 million.

Mainar said the station is more expensive because scarcity of land in the area forced the city to buy a small lot, which requires a three-story building with underground parking. Because San Diego has no other three-story stations, the architectural design must be completely original, he said.

Construction of the station is scheduled to be finished in fall 2016, city officials said.